Individual-towel device.



H. A. AMMANN.

INDIVIDUAL TOWEL DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED MAR. I, 916.

Patented Mar. 12, 1918.

Arron/m -pfsrarns PATENT orator.

HENRY A. AMMANN, O13 SPOKANE, WASHINGTON, ASSIIEGNOR TO DIAMOND INDIVIDUAL TOWEL SYSTEM CO.,

03' SPOKANE, WASHINGTON, A CORPORATION. OF WASHINGTON.

INDIVIDUAL-TOWEL DEVICE.

4 To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY A. AMMANN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Spokane, inthe county of Spokane and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Individual-Towel Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in individual towel devices.

This invention has to do more particularly with that class of towel device in which the towels are disposed in upright position upon a supporting shelf, the novelty of this invention consisting of an abutment for engagement by the foremost or front towel of the stack, and actuated follower means engaging the rearmost towel of the stack and serving to advance the towel stack on the shelf and toward and against said abutment as the stack decreases in volume.

A further feature consists in providing a strin er adapted to extend through the towe stack, and away therefrom to form a guide along which the towels may be advanced to the point of use, the novelty ofthis feature residing in connecting the stringer to the movable follower means so that the stringer will be advanced synchronously with the towel stack thereby avoiding the imposition of any load on the actuated follower means in addition to the load imposed by the towels shifted thereby.

This feature is of particular importance, and I claim it to be clearly novel, in combination with initially imperforate towels having a flexible stringer strung therethrough.

A further feature of novelty consists in sustainin' the lower edges of the towel stack at a slig t elevation clear from theshelf, and by means serving to minimize shifting friction, and in providing the follower with a towel supporting portion extending underneath the rearmcst towels of the stack so as to prevent the latter from draggin beneath the follower as the stack is shi ted forwardl I A fiirther feature of novelty consists in the provision of anti-friction supporting means for the follower to maintain the lower edge of the latter clear from the shelf thereby avoiding lower drag and causing the follower to normally assume a substantially parallel position with respect to the abutment.

Specification of Letters Patent.

fully described in Patented Mar. 12,1918.

Other features Figure 1 is a view in front elevation illustrating one form of my invention. I F F1gl. 2 is a sectional view on line 22 of Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Like characters of reference designate slmilar parts ures of'the drawing.

As illustrated, my invention is shown in the form of towel rack or cabinet having a back wall 1, side wall 2 and a front wall 3. The front wall 3 extends for only a 'oortion of the height of the cabinet so as to provlde an opening 4 for entrance of the soiled towels into a soiled towel receptacle formed in the bottom of the cabinet. Slightly below the top of the cabinet I provide a supporting shelf 5 which is preferably inclined sllghtly from the back Wall 1, downwardly, toward the front ofthe cabinet. Upon the shelf 5 is formed a'plurality of rails 6 havlng rounded treads upon which the lower edges of the towel stack 7 are supported.

The rear wall 1 extends sufficiently upwardly to form a back 8 for the shelf 5, and the upper margin is turned over to form a flange 9. Likewise, the side walls 2 are provided with flanges 10, extending along the top, and flanges 11, extending vertically of the front of the cabinet.

A towel abutment 12 is suitably fixed to the side walls 2, or in any desirable manner, near the front of the shelf 5 and preferably slightly above the latter so that there will be a space between the lower edge 13, of the abutment, and the top of the shelf. This space is provided for sanitary reasons, especially in washing the cabinet, as well as for a special purpose which will presently appear. The abutment 12 is cut away at 14 in a configuration to provide for sufiicient area of abutment surface and also a sufiicient releasing space to facilitate withdrawal of the towels. .The form of the abutment throughout thedifi'erent figis substantially that of the follower-shown lib disposed laterally of the point from which the stringer 16 emerges from the towel stack 7. This form of abutment permits the limp fabric towels being withdrawn upwardly from behind'and over the abutment without necessitating or tendin to lift the entire stack by stress exerte upwardly on the stringer. Furthermore, in this form of the invention, there is practically no problem involved in holding the left hand edges of the foremost towels back of the arm 15 by reason of the fact that the abutment 12 is preferably a fixed abutment and therefore withdrawal of the towels, one by one, does not tend to pull the left-hand edges of the next rearmost towels from behind the arm 15.

My novel actuated follower means comprises a follower 17, preferably formed of sheet metal and from the top of which 1 formed retaining means which are shown to comprise downwardly slanting upper and lower retaining flanges 18 and 19, respectively. The flanges 18 and 19 present relatively sharp rough edges to the rearmost towel and this follower co-acts with the abutment to prevent the last towels of the stack from being collectively pulled out until the very last towel is withdrawn. This feature has been broadly covered in my copending ap lication filed Feb. 10th, 1916, Serial No. 27531, and in this application, the novelty of the retaining means resides in combination with a movable follower; In order to prevent the lower edges of the last towels from dragging behind the follower, I-

provide the latter w1th supporting portions 20 which extend beneath and forwardly of a few of the last towels. I also preferably support the follower on rollers 21 to prevent friction drag of the lower end or edge of the follower against the shelf 5 thereby permitting the actuating means, hereinafter described, to maintain the follower in parallel relation with the abutment. The space between the abutment and the shelf will permit the supporting portions 20to extend beneath the abutment when the stack is exhausted to practically the last towels. Furthermore, the rails 6 support the towels at such an elevation above the shelf to permit the supporting portions 20 to perfectly function. It will be understood that the supporting portions 20 will always engage a'predetermined number of the last towels of the stack and it will not be necessary, and in fact these portions will not be -forced against or beneath the remaining towels, the function of these ortions being to correctlysupport thelast ew towels in position so that the device will present an orderly appearance at all stages of operation.

The follower 17 is preferably provided with uprights 21 and 22 which will co-act with flanges 10 should there be any tendency to lift the follower upwardly as the last few,

the eye 24, of strin neearae towels are being withdrawn. ()n one of the uprights 22, I provide means which mav be in the formof a spring clip 23 to which er 16, may be connected. The towels of stac 7 are unprovided with gromets or eyelets and they are initially imperforate. The stringer 16 is in the form of a flexible line cr wire which is strung through the towels in the manner set forth and claimed in my patent date May 9, 1916, No. 1,181,983. There is considerable friction present when it is attempted to draw this wire through the towel and therefore the advantageous feature of connecting the stringer with the movable follower so as to shift the stringer synchronously with the follower, will be fully appreciated. By this means, I eliminate all frictional drag on the follower which would necessarily be imposed thereon if the stringer were anchored to a fixed portion of the cabinet.

Interposed betweenv the follower and back 8, is the actuating means which is shown to be in the form of springs 25 and 26. Each end of each spring is preferably anchored through the follower and to the back 8, as by welding or suitable means so as permanently to secure the follower in an operative position. Furthermore, the springs are disposed in staggered relation so as to act effectively to maintain the follower in parallel relation with the abutment.

It will be observed that when the towel stack is initially inserted, it will be of greatest weight, but it will also be observed that the springs will then be under greatest contraction. As the towel stack decreases in volume, its weight will decrease, and the energy necessary to shift the towel stack will not be as much as when the stack was initially inserted. Therefore, it will be seen that while the springs gradually lose their power as they expand, the work which they are to perform will proportionately decrease and this ratio can be accurately determined so as to employ springs of just the required strength.

It is believed that the novelty and utility of my invention will be clearly understood from the foregoing description, and while I have herein shown and described one specific form of my invention, 1 do notwish to be limited thereto except for such limitations as the claims may import.

I claim:

1. In an individual towel device, means adapted to engage the lower edges and the sides of a stack of towels to support the towels on edge and said means including an actuated follower, and a stringer having one end attached to said follower and extending through said towels and awa therefrom to form a guide along which said towels may be advanced to a point of use, substantially as described 2. In an individual towel device, means adopted to engage the lower edges and front of a stack of towels to support the latter on edge with their Sides substantially vertical, an actuated follower-engaging the rear of said stack and advancing the latter forwardly as the stack decreases in volume, and a flexible stringer having one end connected to said follower to move with the latter and extendingthrough said towels in 'a forward direction from said point of conmotion and away from said towels to form a guide along which said towels may be advanced to a suitable point of use, sub stantially as described.

3. In an individual towel device, a shelf for supporting a stack of towels on edge,

an abutment for engagement by" said stack on one side of the latter, an actuated follower engaging the opposite side of said stack and advancing the stack toward ,said abutment as the stack decreases in volume and said follower havin a supporting ortion extending beneath t e last towels o the stack, and rollers for supporting said follower free from engagement with said shelf, substantially as described.

4. In an individual towel device, a shelf for supporting a stack of towels on edge of the towel stack to support the latter clear from the shelf, an actuated follower engaging the towel stack to advance the ,latter forwardly and having a supporting portion extending beneath the last towels of the stack, an abutment against which the towels are advanced, and rollers supporting said follower free from engagement with said shelf substantially as described.

5. in anindividual towel device, a shelf for supporting a stack of towels on edge an abutment for engagement by the forwar side of said stack, a follower for engagement with the rear side of said stack, a back for said shelf, springs secured to said back and'to' said follower for actuatin the latter to advance the stack against sai abutment as the stack decreases in volume, rollers supporting said follower free from engagement with said shelf, and a stringer secured to said follower and extending throughsaid stack and away therefrom to form a guide alon which the towels may be advanced to the esired point of use, substantially as described.-

In' testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I hereby afiix my signature. HENRY A. AMMAN 

